Chairman Russell Brown called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m.

Council Members Present:

Russell Brown, Bill Simpson, Bob Brown, Anita Sauder, Paul Adams, Mary Harrington,
Susan Lockridge, Harold Smith, Michael Orkin, and Ruth Lange

The following voting members were absent:

Lillian Vernon, Adam York, and Donald Webster

One nonvoting ex-officio member or guest was present:

Paul Anderson, Volunteer

Devotional. Mary Harrington presented a devotional based on Luke 9:1–10. She focused her comments on Luke 9:10, relating to the return of the apostles and their report to Jesus on what they had done. Mary shared that this is a good example of how Jesus modeled leadership and accountability. At the conclusion of the devotional, Mary led the board in prayer.

Approval of agenda. The board chairman distributed a proposed meeting agenda. After hearing the proposed agenda, the board approved it by consensus, providing a guide for the meeting.

Approval of minutes. The minutes of the board meeting conducted on September 2, 20__ and the minutes of an executive committee meeting conducted on November 11, 20__ were presented. A motion to approve the minutes as prepared was seconded. Motion carried.

Presentation of reports. The following reports were presented and received with appreciation by the board as information:

a. Executive Director (ministry program) Report. Paul Williams reported on the accomplishments of most of the ministry’s goals for 20__ (complete report attached as Exhibit A). He challenged the board to act on the ministry doors that seem to be opening in Mexico. He encouraged the board to start a leadership succession process, since he hopes to retire in three years.

b. Marketing and Communications Report. Kirk Ott shared various fundraising matters  (complete report attached as Exhibit B). The need to produce monthly or quarterly emailed newsletters. We found someone who is willing to take photos and send them to FLI in order to update our project page of the website. We still need to find a printer for the postcards that can be handed out on the trip to the U.S. this summer.

c. Financial Report. Faye Sterns reported on the current cash flow challenges (complete report attached as Exhibit C). Although giving has been strong for the last month, the establishment of a line of credit may be necessary to provide adequate funding for the next 60 days.

The board recessed at 5:30 p.m. for dinner.

At 7:00 p.m., the board came back into session. The chairman declared that a quorum was present. The board took up items from the agenda.

Election of board members. Bill Simpson, Michael Orkin, and Paul Adams complete their first three-year terms of service at the conclusion of this board meeting.

Opening of new mission field. The executive director presented a proposal (attached as Exhibit E) for opening a new mission field in Mexico in 20__. The first-year budget would be $500,000 and would include one field director plus four career missionaries.

20__-36. ACTION: A motion was made and seconded to approve the opening of a new mission field in Mexico in 20__ with a first-year budget of $500,000. The $500,000 budget for this field is included in the annual budget to be considered by the board in this meeting.

A motion was made and seconded to increase the 20__ budget for the new field to $1,000,000. The motion failed.

The chairman stated that the original motion was now before the board. Motion carried.

Leadership succession. The board discussed the executive director’s announcement of his plan to retire in three years and expressed appreciation to the executive director for providing advance notice.

20__-39. ACTION: The motion was made and seconded to appoint an executive director search committee of three board members to be named by the board chairman, who will begin the search process for an individual to succeed the current executive director.

Annual budget. The CFO presented the 20__ budget (see Exhibit F). This version of the budget incorporates the changes to the version of the 20__ budget reviewed by the board in the September 2, 20__ board meeting.

20__-40. ACTION: After a brief discussion of the guidelines used to construct the budget, the motion was made and seconded to approve the 20__ budget as presented. Motion carried.

Executive director review. The executive committee reported that it had completed the annual review of the executive director. A summary of the review was distributed to the board. This summary was filed with the permanent board documents, but it was not made a part of the minutes of this board meeting. The board received this report as information.

Executive compensation. The executive committee reported on its annual review of the executive director’s compensation. A detailed analysis of current pay, proposed pay, and the propriety of the proposed pay based on comparative compensation studies was distributed to the board, but it was not made a part of the minutes of this board meeting.

20__-41. ACTION: The motion was made and seconded to approve the adjustments in the gross pay and fringe benefits of the executive director as recommended by the executive committee. Motion carried.

Board self-assessment. The board devoted a short time to self-assessment of this board meeting. It was the consensus of the board that the meeting was well-focused on policies and mission-critical issues.

Future meetings. The following schedule of board meetings was presented:

March 4, 20__: The board is to meet in Dallas, Texas, at 1:00 p.m. The exact location will be announced later.

June 8, 20__: The board is to meet at the ministry’s headquarters in Chicago.

The chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Attachments: Exhibits A–F